US top official to visit Ethiopia months after Tigray peace truce

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during the release of the "2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" at the State Department in Washington, DC, U.S., March 30, 2021. Mandel Ngan/Pool via REUTERS

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - After the peace deal signed four months ago, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to land in Addis Ababa next week, before proceeding to Niamey, the capital of Niger in West Africa, in what is viewed as a strategy to fight China's growing influence.

State Department noted Blinken will visit Addis Ababa and Niamey starting Tuesday where he will extensively discuss the recently signed peace deal between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF], which initially controlled the country.

By count, this is his fourth high-profile visit to Africa this year by top members of the Biden administration. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and first lady Jill Biden have already gone there.

At Ethiopia, the top US official will meet representatives of both the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and those from the Tigray region before proceeding to Niger, where he will be the first-ever State Secretary to tour the West African nation which is facing IS insurgents in Sahel region.

In discussions with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Tigrayan officials, the State Department said Blinken would focus on the “implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement to advance peace and promote transitional justice in northern Ethiopia.”

The United States had suspended preferential trade agreements with Ethiopia following the two-year conflict in the north. But the top U.S. diplomat for Africa said Friday that a full normalization of relations will depend on more action from Addis Ababa, particularly after the “earth-shattering” Tigray conflict, AP reports.

“What we’re looking to do is refashion our engagement with Ethiopia,” said Molly Phee, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs. “We would like to be able to have a partnership that is commensurate with their size and influence and with our interest and commitment to Africa.”

“But to put that relationship in a forward trajectory we will continue to need steps by Ethiopia to help break the cycle of ethnic/political violence that has set the country back for so many decades,” she said.

The conflict in Tigray erupted a year after Abiy received the Nobel Peace Prize for making peace with longtime rival Eritrea. The PM was instrumental in signing the truce under AU mediation. 

GAROWE ONLINE